[gijoe50000]

So I've had a 2006 407 SW for about 4 years now, and it's getting to the 15 year mark where, here in Ireland, insurance starts to become more of a problem. Less companies want to touch you, and the ones that do, have dollar signs in their eyes.
I'm looking to get a maybe a 2010-13 car, been looking at Passat, BMW, Skoda, Volvos, etc, basically a large saloon or estate.
I've seen a few 508s around and I'm wondering how they compare to these aforementioned cars, and how the 508 is compared to the 407.
I quite like the 407, but the main problem I had were the "gadgets", everything just seems to break: heater flaps, pano sunroof clips, central locking receiver chip/receiver, electric windows, radio display, etc.

So basically I'm asking: how do the gadgets hold up over time? Is everything still kind of flimsy, or is the 508 a bit more reliable gadget-wise?
And just in general, how is it compared to other saloons out there?

The "flimsiness" of my 407 has also kind of turned me off other French cars too, Citroën, Renault, etc, which is probably a bit silly. I'm trying to get over it.

 

[Templex]

So I've had a 2006 407 SW for about 4 years now, and it's getting to the 15 year mark where, here in Ireland, insurance starts to become more of a problem. Less companies want to touch you, and the ones that do, have dollar signs in their eyes.
I'm looking to get a maybe a 2010-13 car, been looking at Passat, BMW, Skoda, Volvos, etc, basically a large saloon or estate.
I've seen a few 508s around and I'm wondering how they compare to these aforementioned cars, and how the 508 is compared to the 407.
I quite like the 407, but the main problem I had were the "gadgets", everything just seems to break: heater flaps, pano sunroof clips, central locking receiver chip/receiver, electric windows, radio display, etc.

So basically I'm asking: how do the gadgets hold up over time? Is everything still kind of flimsy, or is the 508 a bit more reliable gadget-wise?
And just in general, how is it compared to other saloons out there?

The "flimsiness" of my 407 has also kind of turned me off other French cars too, Citroën, Renault, etc, which is probably a bit silly. I'm trying to get over it.

I had a 2005 407 SW GLX 2.0L HDI Diesel from 2006 to 2013. She never put a foot wrong and was very reliable and never suffered from anything failing, so I cannot say I found anything to be flimsy. I replaced it with a 2012 508 SW, Allure trim, again a 2.0L diesel. It was engineered better than the 407 and, again, was very reliable. In 2016 I replaced it with another 508, GT trim this time and automatic, another great car. Replaced in 2019 with the new 508 fastback, without the load carrying space of the SW, and with more bells and whistles and new electronics which might become more flimsy, but only time will tell.

 

[gijoe50000]

I had a 2005 407 SW GLX 2.0L HDI Diesel from 2006 to 2013. She never put a foot wrong and was very reliable and never suffered from anything failing, so I cannot say I found anything to be flimsy. I replaced it with a 2012 508 SW, Allure trim, again a 2.0L diesel. It was engineered better than the 407 and, again, was very reliable. In 2016 I replaced it with another 508, GT trim this time and automatic, another great car. Replaced in 2019 with the new 508 fastback, without the load carrying space of the SW, and with more bells and whistles and new electronics which might become more flimsy, but only time will tell.

Thanks for the response.
Yea, the heater flaps and display are a pretty common fault, and I've heard others also talking about the pano clips breaking, could just be that the original owner didn't get these things sorted under warranty.
The rest could just be bad luck on my part. But all the "big money" parts have all been great, electrics, engine, turbo, etc .
But yea, thanks, I might keep a 508 in mind and snap one up if the right one comes along.

 

[MEM928]

So I've had a 2006 407 SW for about 4 years now, and it's getting to the 15 year mark where, here in Ireland, insurance starts to become more of a problem. Less companies want to touch you, and the ones that do, have dollar signs in their eyes.
I'm looking to get a maybe a 2010-13 car, been looking at Passat, BMW, Skoda, Volvos, etc, basically a large saloon or estate.
I've seen a few 508s around and I'm wondering how they compare to these aforementioned cars, and how the 508 is compared to the 407.
I quite like the 407, but the main problem I had were the "gadgets", everything just seems to break: heater flaps, pano sunroof clips, central locking receiver chip/receiver, electric windows, radio display, etc.

So basically I'm asking: how do the gadgets hold up over time? Is everything still kind of flimsy, or is the 508 a bit more reliable gadget-wise?
And just in general, how is it compared to other saloons out there?

The "flimsiness" of my 407 has also kind of turned me off other French cars too, Citroën, Renault, etc, which is probably a bit silly. I'm trying to get over it.

I've had a 407SW 2.0HDI 2006 followed by the 407 Coupe 2.0HDI. Both were very reliable, the only issue was with the SW DPF sensor throwing the occasional wobbly. Followed this with a 508 2.0HDI saloon. This was a step up from the SW in every way. Nothing on that car caused a problem. Electrics all worked to the day we parted company. None of the trim was loose and it returned in excess of 50mpg without really trying. Long journeys in the high 50's.

As long as the car you go for is well looked after I don't think you will have an issue. All of my cars had been serviced at the correct intervals.

508 Fastback is a step up again tho.